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7 California Republicans on How to Re-Energize the GOP

What does the GOP need to do to win elections in the coming era of the white minority? Active members of California's Republican Party share their view.

The selection of Harmeet Dhillon, a Sikh attorney who once served on the board of the northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, as the California Republican Party's new vice-chair illustrates how the GOP is changing to reflect a more diverse state. (Photos by David Kidd)

Michelle Park Steel, the vice-chair of the state Board of Equalization, is now the highest-ranking California Republican in state office. She's also one of the leaders of a wave of female, Asian-American Republicans who are seeking office in Southern California.

Diamond Bar City Council member Ling-Ling Chang says many younger constituents struggle to understand why any non-white person would be a Republican. "The perception of the party is that it's for whites," she says. Young people "think the party is racist. I hear that all the time."

Longtime San Francisco Republican activist Chris Bowman blames Proposition 187, which sought to prevent undocumented aliens from accessing public services, for the GOP's decline. "For a short-term political advantage, the Republican Party in California suffered a nearly mortal long-term self-inflicted wound," he says.

In the wake of last November's losses, state Republicans have been debating whether the Republican message itself is the problem or whether it was simply delivered poorly. Most elected officials seem to incline toward the latter explanation. Republican General Assembly Leader Connie Conway rejects the idea that the state party has a diversity problem. "[W]e have diversity within the party; we just haven't been very good at showcasing that," she says. By focusing on jobs and education, Conway hopes to regain seats in the next election cycle.

Assembly Member Kristin Olsen represents a Central Valley district that has long inclined toward Republicans. With a growing number of Latinos, however, her district is becoming much more diverse than it was in Ronald Reagan's days. Nevertheless, Olsen expresses confident that Central Valley voters will continue to support the GOP.

Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez believes that California Republicans need to reconsider more than simply how to better include and reach out to Latinos. "It’s cute to say it’s not the message, it’s the messenger,” says Chavez. “But at the end of the day, people want to know, ‘How can this better my life in California?’" Republicans need "to put themselves back in the game" by coming up with real solutions to pressing problems, by embracing environmental protections, and by recognizing that the state has a role in growing the economy.